


Amigos sí, novios no

by traumschwinge



Series: Tuyo, Míos, Pero Nada Nuestro [1]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: M/M, Other, Parent-Child Relationship, Relationship Negotiation, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 17:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10443654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traumschwinge/pseuds/traumschwinge
Summary: Dating with teenage children can be hard. While some might be excited at the prospect of their single parent not being single anymore, others might be opposed to the mere concept. Drawing a line between friendship, attraction and more, when the grown ups themselves haven't figured it out yet, is a shifting field of negotiation. But somehow, it all has to work out in the end.





	

Getting called by his kids’ school during the day wasn’t fun at the best of times. Getting called to be told that one was at the principal’s office and one on his way to get medical care because he’d gotten stabbed was definitely not. Erik was just thankful that at least one out of three seemed to be turning out alright, staying in class and not getting into trouble.

The message he’d gotten soon after in a chat simply labeled “Teenage Daughter Guy” didn’t help, either, when he read it on his way from his boss’ office down to his car. He ignored the question of “do you know a good lawyer” for the moment.

Daytime traffic was almost non existent, a fact Erik was rather thankful for as he hurried to get to his kids’ high school as fast as possible without actually breaking any traffic laws. It worried him that he hadn’t gotten a reply when he’d texted Lorna right after the call. Pietro’s lack of response wasn’t as surprising. Erik just hoped he was getting patched up alright. It had sounded like he’d need stitches, even though the secretary had assured Erik it was very definitely not life threatening.

Finding the way to the principal’s office was easier for Erik than he’d ever be comfortable to admit. It wasn’t his first, nor third, visit to the office. He’d liked to make sure his only son wasn’t dying, but not knowing exactly which ER they’d had the sense to send him to, he didn’t even have that much of a choice. He just figured if it were serious they wouldn’t have called him to the school first.

Lorna wasn’t waiting for him outside the office. That was more than suspicious. Usually, Erik would find at least two teens doing their best to look angry and contrite at the same time in front of the office when he came. This time, there wasn’t even one.

Instead, he could hear a voice that sounded an awful lot like his daughter from inside the office in a tone and volume that indicated that she might, just might, have inherited some of the anger issues he’d been struggling with himself. Erik turned away from the secretary and pulled a face, desperately hoping nobody else would see the disdain he allowed himself for a second. Then, newly composed, he approached her to ask about both his children.

The secretary just looked at him for a moment after he’d said his greetings, before she pressed a button on the phone on her desk and said into the speaker: “The other father is here.” Then, after listening for a moment, she hung up and pointed at the door to the office. “Go on in.”

Erik could feel an inner resistance to entering building up the closer he got to the door. At least, Lorna had stopped yelling for the moment. He knocked before he opened the door, bracing himself for nothing in particular and everything at the same time.

Lorna was standing next to one of the chairs in front of the principal’s desk. Erik could tell she was still poised to fight if need be and only for the moment pausing until someone would make the next mistake. It took a lot of him to not sigh out loud. The chairs were occupied, probably the reason why Lorna was standing, aside from her general unrest. It was a girl with long dark hair and a man about Erik’s age. This time, he let out an actual sigh.

Immediately, Lorna turned around and focused on him. “It’s all Pietro’s fault,” she declared, not offering any explanation or reasoning.

“Ok.” Erik nodded. His glance flickered over to the other dad. Their eyes met and they each raised their hand in greeting for a moment. Then, he turned back to Lorna, completely ignoring the principal. “Why’s it his fault?”

“Because he started it.” Still, no explanation what was going on.

Erik waved his hand. “Details, Lorna. I don’t even know why you’re here. I just know you wouldn’t leave.”

“Pietro ran up and lifted me. It startled me. I screamed. Not Laura’s fault she thought he was dangerous!”

Erik nodded. That brief story, knowing Laura’s dad and vaguely where Pietro was made somewhat sense. “Ok. Anything else?”

“She didn’t stab deep?” That detail sounded a lot less determined than anything she’d said before. Welp, Erik thought, at least she knows that stabbing people for any reason ought to make you feel bad. Small small mercies.

At that moment, the principal cleared her throat. “Now that you’re here and somewhat filled in, Mr Lehnsherr… I’d like to know if you plan on suing the school. Or Laura, for that matter. Of course, we’ll understand and assist in any way possible if you do.”

Erik blinked at her. “Sue…?” He could picture the scene from Lorna’s description only too well, partly because he’d seen it and yelled at Pietro for exactly that kind of behaviour before. He was also more than sure if it _hadn’t_ been her brother grabbing Lorna like that, he’d be rather glad about the whole affair. “I…” He shrugged, then shook his head. “I’ve not reached a decision on that matter yet. I’d mostly like to see Pietro first, at the very least.”

The principal looked a little contrite but nodded anyway. “I understand.”

“Is that all? Because if it is, I really, really would like to drive to the ER.” Erik put up the impatient face he knew worked on most people to make them cut meetings short.

The principal looked to Laura and her dad, then back to Erik. “I think you should at least exchange numbers.”

Erik and Laura’s dad looked at each other for a moment, before shrugging almost simultaneously. Erik took his phone out and had the number dictated to him. Instead of saving a number already in his contacts however, he used the time to type a message.

The principal sighed. “My secretary will give you the hospital’s name and address.” Then, she turned to Laura. “Remember, you’re suspended until Monday. Use the time to think about what you’ve done wrong.”

And with that, they were dismissed. Erik very mindfully steered Lorna out, giving her no time nor chance to yell at her principal again. He had the sneaking suspicion that she’d only been allowed to do so anyway because the school was worried he’d sue for negligence.

After a brief talk with the secretary so Erik knew where to pick Pietro up, they went outside, Erik figuring there was no point at all in sending Lorna back to class. Laura and her dad were waiting for them in the parking lot by their cars. Erik waved at them but only got a reaction out of one of them.

“Dad!” Lorna suddenly blurted out when they were almost there. She stopped and pulled at Erik’s hand and whatever metal he had on him. “You can’t sue Laura!”

“I can.”

Lorna glowered. “I won’t let you.”

“I’m your dad.”

“I hate you!” Lorna stomped her foot.

“I would hate you,” Erik corrected her.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “No. I hate you already.”

“Too bad because in that case I’ll have to drive you home myself instead of asking if you can stay with Laura until dinner.” He looked over at Laura’s dad whose shrug he choose to interpret that it would be alright.

“I can drive her home if you don’t wanna pick her up,” Logan offered.

Erik walked around Lorna and closed the distance to him and Laura. “Sounds great. Means I wouldn’t have to stress if anything takes longer than planned.” He looked at Laura. “Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?”

She looked up at her dad, then at Lorna before her gaze finally settled on Erik. “Fine.”

“Do you know that stabbing other people is bad?”

She nodded, not entirely convinced.

“Will you wait at least long enough for Lorna to decide whether she needs help next time? If it happens again?”

Again, Laura nodded, getting visibly suspicious.

“Good.” Erik sighed. “I’m really glad she has a friend like you.”

“That’s not what you’re supposed to say!”

Erik shrugged. “So what? I’d rather Lorna has a friend to defend her physically as well as verbally than you not stabbing people for her.”

“You’re ruining years of attempting to raise her not to stab people,” Logan groaned. Still, he was grinning.

“Not my problem.”

Logan shook his head in exasperation. “I’ll somehow make today up to you?”

Erik shrugged. “If you can come up with something, be my guest.” He looked at his phone. “I should probably get going and make sure I get Pietro. I’ll call when I’m home. After that you can bring Lorna home whenever.”

Logan nodded. “‘s ok.”

~*~*~

Later, in the car as Logan was driving the girls home to their place, he noticed Lorna watching him in the rearview mirror. He’d expected to have to ignore the girls’ whispered conversation about school, boys and maybe Pietro being a jerk, but not being the object of intense scrutiny.

“Mr Howlett?” Lorna asked when they stopped at a red light. “How come you know my dad?”

Logan’s eyes flickered to her reflection in the mirror, then back at the traffic light. “We were the only single dads with daughters at your class’s parent-teacher conference and got talking.”

Lorna clicked her tongue in disappointment. “Boring,” was her verdict. “Hey, Mr Howlett? Are you gay? Because my dad is. And he could use a date.”

Logan’s grip around the steering wheel tightened, hard enough that his claws almost popped out. “Didn’t your dad tell you that you don’t go around outing people to strangers, or ever?”

“Dad doesn’t mind.” Years of dealing with Laura had cautioned him of the tone she was using. It meant that she didn’t care and was probably lying. “And he looked like he likes you.”

“He can ask me himself, but I’ll keep it in mind just in case.”

Logan was well aware of the conversation taking place on the back seats but chose to ignore it. He did, however, pick up the words Pietro, step-sisters and marriage. It made him shake his head.

“Ok,” Lorna eventually declared. “Maybe that was a stupid idea. You should definitely not date my dad.”

Logan hummed in agreement. It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed that Laura wasn’t much of a fan of him dating anyone. But at least, they’d ended the conversation between each other before he had to end it. It made it a lot easier for him.

~*~*~

“Dad?”

It was just before her bedtime when Lorna came padding into the living room where Erik was trying to relax after the long day. Pietro had been an handful, acting like he’d almost died when he’d only needed a couple of stitches that wouldn’t even have to be pulled. Laura had managed to leave a very clean wound that, according to the doctor, would probably heal without much of a scar. None of that deterred Pietro from whining, getting on Erik’s nerves enough to make him snap that he’d somewhat deserved it for acting as stupidly as he had. They hadn’t spoken since they’d gotten home.

“Dad,” Lorna repeated as she plopped down on the couch next to him. “I talked a bit to Mr Howlett today.”

“Uh-hu?” Erik had no idea where she was headed. Probably asking to go somewhere with Laura past curfew.

“He said he’s thinking about asking you out to make up for today.” Lorna tried to sound earnest to a degree Erik was certain she was lying. “Like, treating you dinner and a movie if you want to. He’s just not sure if he should ask you, you know?”

“Aha.” Erik did his best to keep his tone as flat as possible. “Well, he has my number.” Just to underline that he wasn’t in the mood, he started switching channels.

“Aren’t you interested? You haven’t gone out in forever?”

“Lorna, I’m not your personal soap… can’t you find another hobby aside from setting me up with random people? ...and at least set me up with women.” He settled on an action movie. The explosions at least meant that Lorna would have to stop arguing every now and then.

“Mom says your track record with women is abysmal.” Lorna was smiling. “And Mr Howlett’s really nice, don’t you think? He looks almost like a Hollywood star.” She made a gesture that could either indicate chest muscles—or boobs.

“So you’re setting me up because he’s your type?” Erik was tired and irked enough to play along. Or at least against her.

Lorna rolled her eyes. “I’m telling you because you were staring. You’re always staring at guys with that build.”

“Maybe I’m just wondering what gym they go to. I keep thinking I need to get in shape again.”

“Really?” Lorna was definitely not buying it. “You’re out jogging most days a week way before breakfast.”

“And still putting on weight.” Erik pulled a face. “Just wait until you get older.”

“You’re getting off topic. Mr Howlett. Date. C’mon.”

“Fine.” Erik decided to call her bluff. Worst case, he’d have to explain why his daughter thought every single man to be gay. At least, he’d never gotten the feeling Logan had much of a problem with gays. Or anything else. He mostly just didn’t seem to care. “I’ll call. Right now.” He switched the tv off. “And I’ll put him on speaker. While you listen.”

Lorna waved her hand. “Go ahead.” She was slightly mortified, Erik could tell, but she tried to play it cool. He was impressed. Not impressed enough to spare her, though.

He took his phone from the coffee table and searched for Logan’s number. If Lorna noticed the name he’d saved it under, she didn’t comment on it.

“‘s late. Anything wrong?” Logan must have seen the caller ID because he didn’t even bother with a greeting. He sounded tired, enough that Erik almost felt bad.

“I dunno. Lorna wanted me to call.” Erik looked at her. “She insists that you wanted to treat me dinner sometime soon. As a date and as an apology.”

Logan was silent for a moment. It was only very faint, but Erik was almost sure he could hear him laugh. “She was advertizing you as ‘very gay for me’ this afternoon.”

“Was she now?” Erik’s tone was still amused but he was glaring daggers at his daughter.

“I told her outing others is not nice.” Silence. “Did we get played by a teen?”

Erik picked his phone up, turned off the speaker and leaned back. “Considering we’re both aware that she was trying to play us? No. I’m still up for dinner if you add an order of pizza for the kids. Having to cook for them anyway somewhat defeats the purpose of eating out.”

“Let Laura stay over and I think we have a deal.” Much to Erik’s elation, Logan was laughing.

“A full night without teenagers. Tempting.”

“And a babysitter paid in pizza. Not that Laura needs one. Still. Knowing that there’s a sensible older kid in charge is good.”

“Friday or Saturday. At eight.”

“Good. Saturday’s better. No work. I’ll pick you up.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Erik ended the call and looked at Lorna. “I have a date. Apparently. With a nice guy. Thanks to you. If that means I lose one of my best friends if it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming you.”

~*~*~

“I have to admit, this was nice.” They’d just finished eating. Erik had been impressed that Logan had actually gone far enough out of his way to pick a proper restaurant. He’d half expected going to a dinner, or for fast food, maybe a bar, but no, Logan had made a point telling him it would be a restaurant and that he should dress the part, too, especially to get Lorna’s hopes up some more. And it wasn’t like Erik wasn’t aware that it was one of the first restaurants that was recommended on Yelp!, but that was something he’d rather put down to effort than anything else.

“Nice enough to have no problems making up details? For when you lie your daughter?” Logan wore the widest grin. They’d both agreed that this was all mostly to troll Lorna and spare their kitchens for a night.

Erik thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think I’ll have to lie about anything. I mean, I could, but…” He thought about what exactly he’d even have to make up a tale about and decided Lorna would never, ever get to hear from him about what he’d thought of. “...we won’t be late enough for that, I think.”

“You could always come over after,” Logan joked. “But I can only offer beer and TV.”

“Tempting,” Erik admitted. “We could make fun of late night shows or movie reruns.” He suppressed a yawn. “That is, if you’re ok with a guy described as ‘very gay for you’ falling almost asleep on your couch.”

“I’ll risk it.” Logan shrugged. “You don’t look like I couldn’t kick you out.”

Erik took a moment to consider Logan. While they might be evenly matched in a real fight, if he forced it, he had no doubts that he really stood no chance against Logan when it came to pure physical strength. “Please don’t. I keep my hands to myself.”

“Too bad.” Logan flagged down a waiter to ask for the cheque. “Every single one of those stupid romance movies told me you won’t and then we’d marry and have kids.”

“More?” Erik groaned. “If that’s the price, I’ll stay single forever. Three is more than enough.”

“That bad?”

“Remember, everything you’re going through with Laura, I go through with Lorna and I did the same three years ago with Wanda. Not to mention that…” He pulled a face but decided to tell the truth. “Boys are at least as bad as girls, likely worse.” A headshake. “No more children that are my responsibility.”

“And I thought you liked children. You were a great help when Laura got her period cramps.”

Erik shook his head. “I do. But don’t confuse my crisis management with a wish for more.”

“Did you just call children a crisis?” Logan laughed. They had to interrupt their conversation while Logan paid.

Once they were outside and walking to Logan’s car, Erik picked up again. “Teenagers go from one crisis to the next, why would I not call them two-legged crises?”

Logan was silent for a while. “But you still love them, right?” he asked eventually, when they’d already pulled out of the parking lot and were driving down the main street of the area.

Erik let out a deep deep sigh. “They’re my entire life and world.”

Guiltily, he looked at his phone which he had been ignoring during dinner. He’d missed six messages. None from Wanda, one from Lorna wishing him either good luck or to get kissed, three from Pietro that all came down to a complaint about not wanting to be under one roof with Laura and one from an unknown number. “Mira, if you so much as touch my papa, I won’t aim for your thigh when I stab you,” Erik read that text out loud. He saw Logan flinch. “I think your daughter wants me dead?”

“Don’t test her,” Logan advised. “And she’s pretty immune to bullshit and trolling.”

“Uh-hu.” Erik used the same voice he usually reserved for when he wasn’t listening to teenage drama. He was too busy typing a reply. “Duly noted. Am I allowed to be friends still?” he sent Laura.

It took a bit, almost until they were at Logan’s, but eventually, Laura responded with a simple: “Amigos sí novios no!”

Erik let out a breath, mostly to alert Logan. “Finally, almost six months late, I have your daughter’s ok to be friends with you.” On his phone, and against Logan’s warning, he wrote: “Besos?”

“When became that mandatory?” Erik could see a smile around the corner of Logan’s mouth in the light of a passing streetlight.

“The moment she hit puberty? I’d think.” He shrugged. “I’m not allowed anything more, though.”

“Under threat of grievous bodily harm?” Logan sighed theatrically. “My daughter wants me to die old and alone.”

“You’ll still have her.” Erik reached over to pat Logan’s shoulder. “And possibly grandchildren. And great grandchildren.”

“How young do you think she’ll start to have me die with great grandchildren already around?” Logan sounded weary and slightly terrified. “Lorna didn’t tell you anything about Laura dating, did she?”

Erik shook his head. “No. Doesn’t mean she has no one she likes. But I think I’d gotten the exciting news straight away if Lorna was thrilled or displeased.”

“Good.” Logan steered the car into an apartment building’s parking garage and parked it in an empty spot. “Don’t think I could handle her dating already. She was just a scared little girl waking me at night when she couldn’t sleep a year ago. At least it feels like that.”

Erik shot him a look full of pity. “I’m so glad that experience is already in the past for me.” He paused for a moment, before he clarified: “With Wanda, not Lorna.”

“How old was she?”

“Last year? I think. She tried to keep it from everyone for a while.” Erik shrugged. They were in the elevator, leaning against opposite walls. “Don’t worry too much. It’ll happen or it won’t. All you can do is pray you taught her how to choose the right one.”

“Oh. Great.” They were walking down a hallway lined with apartment doors. Logan was fumbling for his keys in a way that made Erik slightly irritated. He could just push them into Logan’s hand, but good manners forbade it. “I should just try and set aside some legal funds for when she picks the wrong one. ...am I a bad father for worrying more about that poor kid than Laura?”

“So long as she doesn’t kill them.” Erik shrugged. “Half a week didn’t make me change my mind all of a sudden.” While Logan was unlocking the door, Erik checked to see how badly he’d provoked Laura.

He didn’t have a text from her. Instead, she had send a picture of her claws halfway through shredding a piece of paper on the floor of what looked like Lorna’s room. The threat was almost impressive. Almost.

The apartment was small, with the front door leading almost directly into what looked like a combined kitchen and living room. Or a living room with a kitchen, only separated by a counter. Erik counted three doors, so he guessed one was for the bathroom and the other two were for Laura’s and Logan’s rooms. Which was which he didn’t know, though he guessed the one with the key missing from the lock was likely Logan’s.

While motioning Erik to sit down on the couch, Logan went straight to the kitchen to fetch them the promised beers. For the first couple of swigs, they stayed silent.

It was Erik, again, picking a conversation back up. “Lorna said Laura inherited her mutation from you.”

He was good at it, but Erik still noticed the little flinch Logan tried to suppress. “We share the same, yes.” His eyes narrowed. “If you ask to see it, you’ll cross a line. Single warning.”

Erik rolled his eyes. “With you, I don’t need to see it to know what it looks like or that it’s there.” He took the handful of what once had been screws but now resembled something like coins he always had in his pocket to play with out and let them levitate between them. Then, he combined them into one big, shiny orb. A nervous glance at Logan’s face to check his mood. He seemed more fascinated than angry. Erik decided to push his luck and reshaped the orb so it had three claws sticking out. Irritation passed over Logan’s expression before his amusement returned.

“Metall,” Erik explained. “Not to sound too creepy, but I could probably pick up where you are and what you do anywhere in town. If I wanted to.”

Logan shook his head. “How can you…” He sighed. For a moment, Erik considered changing the topic. But then Logan made a fist, the muscles in his forearm tensing. The claws were a bit shorter then Erik had thought from what he had been able to feel, but still impressive. The light caught and glittered on sharp edges. A moment later, Logan relaxed again and the claws were gone. And almost at the same time, the wounds where the blades had pierced his skin gone.

“Sorry, I didn’t know it’d hurt.” Erik let the orb drop in his open hand where he reshaped it back into disks so he could put them back in his pocket.

“It doesn’t. Not really.” He could practically see Logan reconsider. “I’m used to it, anyway. No harm done.”

Erik wasn’t exactly convinced, but nodded anyway. “Three claws. That’s one more than Laura.” He smirked. “I saw the wound when we redressed it.”

“But the same in total,” Logan said without offering any further explanation. “Your kids’re all mutants too?”

“Pietro has super speed. Lorna the same as me. And Wanda…” He shrugged. “We’re not sure but if she breaks something, it usually gets expensive. She hates them. And I have no idea how to make her feel better about it. So… we’re usually not talking about them.”

“Did you at least get to wait until puberty before they manifested?” At least Logan had the decency to look empathetic. “A small child with super speed…”

“Is every bit as awful as it sounds. Believe me. So are child shaped super magnets.” Even the memory of it made Erik shudder. “For a while, I had to restock the kitchen with plastic cutlery and ceramic knifes.”

“I could say I’m sorry for you,” Logan grinned. “But imagining you trying to handle all that is funny.”

Erik flopped back against the couch. “It was years of daytime nightmares. No week without a horrible almost incident.” He rubbed a hand across his face. "And now they're teens and go around telling others you'd like to see them in a romantic way for their own amusement. Isn't Lorna great?"

Logan rather pointedly studied the contents left in his bottle. "Well, but is she wrong?"

"About what?" Erik put his empty bottle on the couch table.

"You liking men?" The tone was difficult to interpret for Erik. It could be hope but also just mere curiosity.

He opted for a shrug. "I dunno. Never been with one."

"That's not a no."

"I see no reason to no-homo that question,” Erik deadpanned.

Logan laughed. "That could be constructed very wrong."

"Would you? I thought it was Laura first. And she hates the mere concept of me." Erik frowned. “Or of you in a relationship and I’m just making it worse.”

“Don’t you think she’d come around eventually?” This time, Logan was actually hopeful. “If I had somebody I really liked?”

Erik picked up his phone, opened the conversation with Laura and handed it to Logan. “If you find somebody willing to risk ending up as paper streamers if she doesn’t, maybe?”

Logan shook his head as he handed the phone back. “Why did you ask about kisses?”

“To see just how pissed she’d get.” Erik shot Logan a lopsided smile. “I’m a bad person.”

“I can see that.” There was some irritation, maybe even frustration in Logan’s voice. “She’s been like this forever. Like I can’t have anyone beside her. I gave up on relationships because of that.”

“Between three kids, there’s just no time meeting people, even if I wanted to. I don’t have time for regular dates and being there and all that,” Erik admitted. “And I don’t really want to, either.”

“You have time for me. Answering stupid questions ‘n all. And you made time today,” Logan reminded him.

“That’s something else,” Erik sounded more defensive that he’d like. “You don’t want emotional support. You just want to know what teenager crisis it’s this time and how to handle it.”

Logan shrugged. “Still. You have time.”

“And yet, if you’d text me to ask for sex I’d tell you to take a shower and jerk off.” Erik crossed his arms in front of his chest. He felt a little sulky. “They’re not the same.”

“No.” Logan sounded a little dejected. But before Erik could dwell too much on that thought, or even try to undo some of the damage he’d done, Logan’s phone started to ring. “Shit,” Logan commented and then after a glance on the display: “It’s Laura, sorry.”

Instinctively, Erik looked at his phone as well, ready to see missed calls or at least messages from his kids. To his elation, there were none, but he still send both Wanda and Lorna a text asking to confirm they were alright. After that, he tried not to listen to Logan’s side of the call.

“I said I’d be late……… Might stay overnight……… what’s going on? ……. you’re not that young anymore ….. fine …. yeah yeah I’ll be on my way………” With a sigh, he put his phone down. “Sorry.”

Erik looked up from where he’d been playing around on his. “Huh? No. If Laura wants home and you’ll let her, you should pick her up.”

“...’s my fault now?”

Erik nodded. “Pretty much. You could just say ‘no you’re staying with Lorna tonight’. Or something like that. Since you didn’t, you should go pick her up.” He stood up and stretched.

“Are you mad?”

“No. I’m just telling you if you didn’t want her to run your life, you’d say no.” He bit his lip, having noticed how prickly he sounded. “You put her first. And that’s good.”

“But?” He could feel Logan standing up as well.

“No buts.” Erik sounded more definite than he actually felt. “I’d just have liked to talk a little longer.”

Logan reached out for his arm, but then thought better of it before he actually touched him. “I’m really sorry.”

Erik turned around and patted Logan on the shoulder. “It’s really alright. Next time then.”

“Next time?”

“Well, unless you don’t want to, I wouldn’t mind a repeat of today.” Erik shrugged helplessly.

Logan hesitated. “You really wanna?”

“Why not?” For a second, Erik paused. Breathed. “I enjoy your company. Which means a lot, because I only tolerate most people.”

~*~*~

Halfway home, Logan gave up on trying to find the best, or even the right, words to say to Laura. She was clearly sulking, or at least angry with him. It irked him, enough that he had to force himself from snapping at her, mostly because he felt exactly the same. “Did you have any reason? Any at all? Or had you just wanted to ruin my evening?” He kept his eyes fixed on the street, in the hope that not looking at her would keep him from yelling.

Laura took her time before she answered, very deliberately trying to stay calm. “You promised you’d pick me up after your dinner. You said you’d just go to have something to eat. As a thank you.”

“Is this about who I went to eat with?” Logan completely ignored what she’d said. “Or just that I wasn’t alone and…”

“How can you be friends with such an ass?” Laura snapped this time. “He’s a bad man. I can smell it.” She probably considered that Logan could so, too, if it were true so she added: “Besides Lorna agrees.”

“Lorna thinks her dad’s a bad man?” That stunned Logan enough to forego answering the first question. “Like… a super villain?”

“Lorna says he likes to provoke her and tell her lies.”

“So more like a troll.” Logan let out an elated sigh. “Ok. I knew that.”

“He’s still mean and a bad man.” Laura crossed her arms in front of her chest and slid down in her seat a little. “Aren’t you worried he only wants in your pants?”

“Laura, that’s none… where did you even get that idea?” Logan furrowed his forehead. “Is that about what Lorna said? Neither of us took that seriously. We talked about it.”

“Then why call it a date?”

“Because we’re… we went to one of the better restaurants because I can’t take him to a bar or a dinner to say thank you, can I now?” Logan noticed his voice was getting deeper and generally more grumbly. He didn’t want to have a full blown fight with Laura but could also see they were just about to launch into it. “I’ve exactly this one friend nowadays. Did it ever occur to you that I could just want to be around him?”

“He asked me if he’s allowed to kiss you!” Laura’s fists hit the seat. “And he’s not. You are not.”

“I kiss who and when I want.” Logan was a lot less careful than usual as he parked the car. “It’s none of your business.”

“I don’t want him as a step dad!” Laura didn’t allow Logan a chance to respond. As soon as the car stopped, she was out and running off.

Logan smacked his head against the top of the wheel and stayed like that.

~*~*~

"I'm five minutes away from asking you for a fuck just to spite her." Logan looked at what he’d typed in the chat with Erik. His thumb was already hovering over the send button. He had somehow, several minutes after Laura, made his way upstairs to their apartment. When he’d entered, he’d heard her lock her room. She had obviously waited for him to hear it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have waited. Logan had gone straight to his own room, unable to deal with her at that moment.

And he knew he was about to make a bad mistake.

Either Erik would agree, thinking it was a joke, or turn him down. Rationally, he knew there was also a chance Erik would agree because he wanted him, but that would be just as messy, if only in another way.

He deleted the message and instead wrote another one stating that he and Laura were having a fight and he would turn in now.

Having Erik reply wishing him a good night and good luck with the fight didn’t help much with his frustration.

~*~*~

Laura leaned against the door of her room, still shaking. It wasn’t fair for her papa to be mad at her when she was already mad with him. He could at least have told her he was going out on a date. Instead of doing whatever grown ups did when they were hanging out with friends. He should have asked. It just wasn’t fair of him to leave her out.

Her phone dinged. She looked at her screen ready to shout at her papa to leave her alone. However, it was just a message from Lorna. “How’re you holding up?”

She slid down the door, hugging her knees close to her body with her free hand. “Papa’s really mad at me. Said I ruined his night.” It didn’t feel right. Laura wanted to be angry but she felt mostly so hurt she could cry.

At the very least, Lorna was writing back right away. “Idk if this helps but,” was her first message, shortly followed by: “My dad doesn’t seem mad or anything. He’s in the living room watching TV with Wanda.” And lastly: “So at the very least I don’t think he’ll hold it against your dad?”

Laura stared at the screen, trying to fight her irritation and conflicting feelings to not snap at her best friend. “Papa seemed to care tho.” It was lame but it was what she sent.

“Do you think he likes likes my dad?” For good measure, Lorna had added a bunch of eyes emojis. Laura could feel her friend’s excitement in it. She snuffled. “Dunno!” It sounded more angry than defeated and she liked that. “He likes him. He called him a friend. But how should I know?”

Lorna took her time to reply. Laura watched her status change from typing to online and back a couple of time, until she finally got a response. “Ok. Here’s the deal. I don’t think either of them has an actual interest in dating. Like, your dad def puts you before everything else. You don’t want him to date? He doesn’t. I’m sure. My dad wouldn’t give him the time of day if it were different. I just like to, u no, make fun of my dad. Like. He should date but doesn’t bc he’s always busy w/ us. Or work. And he hates having to deal w/ the feelings of others.” Laura only got halfway through reading the message when one more arrived. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed my dad. I know how he is.”

Laura stared at the screen. She typed and deleted a number of responses. “But what if my papa really like-” “I hate your d-” “Neither of them should-” “It’s ok.--” She took a deep breath. What Lorna had said helped. Somehow, it helped. “It’s alright.”

“Worst case if I’m wrong we’ll be stepsisters ;)”

Laura looked at the message, took a moment of stunned irritation to reread it and then started to laugh. “Worst case I’ll be Pietro’s stepsister.”

“Omg!!! He’d HATE it.”

“He called me gremlin. I’ll show him gremlin.”

“Yesssssss Fully approved Jfc he deserves that sometimes.”

Laura stretched her legs out. Her head hit the door with a low thump. “At least your dad didn’t freak out at my mutation.”

“My dad is T H R I L L E D.” Laura blinked at the message. “He asked a bunch about it, even. Couldn’t answer most tho. Told him to not ask me to out you. That worked.”

“Thrilled how?” She’d heard quite a few descriptions of reactions to her mutation before but “thrilled by it” was a new one. Terrified? Yes. Disgusted? Definitely. Thrilled? ¡No puede ser!

“Thrilled thrilled. Prolly thinks it’s amazing. He’s weird like that.”

“Bc of you three?” Laura unsheathed the claws of her hand not holding her phone. She turned them up and down to look at them from all sides. There was nothing amazing about them.

“... … ...you’re aware that I spend like all of my life watching him trying to get Pietro to sit still and not run across the whole country just because he can right?”

“Ok. Ok. Dumb question. But he’s cool with it? Really cool?” Her thumb shook a little as she typed.

“Pretty sure if you showed him he’d either just whistle or ask if it hurts.”

“But he already saw! And didn’t react at all!” The fact that she only showed to threaten him into silence was conveniently forgotten.

“Saw when? When he saw Pietro’s wound he was super impressed by the clean cuts.”

Laura pulled a face at her phone. Looking back, it seemed silly. “...when I made that pic shredding my pad…. that might have gone to your dad”

“Ooooooooo You didn’t [crying with laughter]” Laura wasn’t sure how to reply, again trying to find the right words. This time, she was rescued by another bunch of messages from Lorna. “I checked his phone You actually did Omg He’s such an ass tho A++++ reaction”

“It was stupid” Laura replied instinctively. “And don’t look at his phone!”

“Whaaaat? You don’t wanna know what he writes your dad? Bc it’s super sweet tbh”

“Lorna! No!” She typed this just as Lorna was sending her a screenshot of her dad’s phone.

“Could only snatch one before he stole it back” was the accompanying message.

Laura was of half a mind to simply ignore it. But the quick first glance she’d given it had also made her read the word “icecream?” Curious, and slightly mortified at what she half-expected to read, she tapped the screenshot to read all of it. They seemed to have been talking about period cramps, whenever that had been. It was Mr Lehnsherr recommending ice cream, chocolate and hot water bottles if pain meds wouldn’t work. The last message from her dad was “do you know a good lawyer” probably written as the school had called him and before he’d arrived for the lecture at the principal’s office, going by the timestamp.

“Why’s my papa “Teenage Daughter Guy”? What am I? His most important feature?” Laura tried to overplay her discomfort at what she read with humor.

“Ikr Dad could at least pretend he knows your dad’s name. Not use whatever was the easiest to remember”

Laura took a deep breath. “I think I’ll go talk to papa now … If he wants to talk to me” She stood up, put her phone on the nightstand, took a couple more deep breaths and stretched. She listened for a moment, trying to find out if her Papa was still awake. There were no noises from his room. Still, she left her room and knocked on his door.

No reaction. In the dark living room, she could see the light under the door. She tried the door, opening it slowly so he could object. There was no reaction. She found him lying on his bed, back turned to the door, lights still on. “Papa?” she asked softly. He sounded asleep, but she still wanted to try.

“I came to say I’m sorry,” she continued as she walked up to him, despite his lack of reaction. Internally, she was cursing herself for leaving her phone in her room. Apologizing to Mr Lehnsherr would be so much easier if she had a picture of her Papa looking cute, probably. “I shouldn’t have yelled.”

She sat down on the bed next to him. Now she could see his eyes were open and he’d just made a conscious effort to seem asleep. She ignored it. “I should let you hang out with whoever you want. It’s only hanging out, right? No reason for drama. And maybe Mr Lehnsherr could have a good influence on you.”

“Ok, now I’m curious.” Logan rolled onto his back so he could look his daughter in the eye. “What brought that on?”

“I talked to Lorna,” Laura admitted.

Logan pushed himself up in a sitting position. “And?”

“She made him sound less bad?” It was a shot in the dark, but at least an honest one. She wasn’t yet ready to tell him about the screenshot. Or Mr Lehnsherr’s appreciation for her mutation.

"So, not internet troll bad anymore?” Logan held out an arm for her to snuggle against his chest.

“No,” she admitted as she leaned in. “Only… gives out nothing but fruit on halloween bad.” She could feel his laugh vibrate against her shoulder as she closed her eyes, feeling save.

“So, if I wanted to…” The arm around her shoulders tensed but Laura ignored it. “You’d let me see him more often?”

“Well. Under conditions.” Laura thought about it for a moment. “Teenage supervision.”

“That’s the main one?” Logan was amused and relaxed, so much different from how he’d been on the car ride home.

“Yeah,” Laura smiled. “You could carry the bags and pay while Lorna and I go shopping. Or picnics. We haven’t done picnics in forever.”

“Picnics,” Logan echoed. “We could do that one.” He hugged her close for a moment. “I didn’t want to get angry at you.”

“‘s alright, Papa.” Laura pulled her legs up on the bed and snuggled close. “I get it. Kinda. You were looking forward to it.”

“I was,” Logan agreed. “But… you’re more important.”


End file.
